Where women heal 

Where women heal 

from painful experiences, so they can connect with the sacred and gently return home to themselves…

from painful experiences, so they can connect with the sacred and gently return home to themselves…

supported and held throughout 9 transformational months of individual sessions, group workshops, sacred healing circles, education and daily home practices.

supported and held throughout 9 transformational months of individual sessions, group workshops, sacred healing circles, education and daily home practices.

You know that woman.

The one who walks her truth. She radiates joy and inner strength, living life on her terms, in deep devotion to all that is sacred to her.

She has an open heart and a wellspring of compassion, not just for others but for herself. Her compassion isn’t weak. It’s powerful. She never lets other people’s agendas or drama stand in her way or pull her from her path. She’s calm and content because she makes a point of prioritising her heart, mind and body – no guilt attached.

Whether she chooses to be out front on centre stage or gardening in peaceful solitude, she always knows exactly who she is and remains deeply connected to her truth.

It’s you stepping into the strong and steady woman you’ve always wanted to be.

But you’re wondering, how does this woman really do it? She must have been born into a loving and supportive family. She’s probably had it pretty easy. Had her life handed to her on a raw treats platter with abundant good fortune and opportunities abounding. She almost certainly hasn’t experienced any deep pain or trauma or even any real stress in her life. Has she?

no matter what you’ve been through in your life, what family you were born into, the circumstances you’ve been dealt or the pain you’ve experienced, YOU can be her.

Creating a calmer, more confident and deeply connected you, is possible.

Because that woman discovered a long time ago that if she was ever going to reach her full potential, she’d have to heal her own pain and tend lovingly, but also purposefully, to the old wounds she was carrying.

She heard the call

from deep within.

First, it was just a whisper of the soul, then gradually it grew louder.

And when she couldn’t ignore it any longer, she knew it was up to her to be the one to

bravely hold the torch of truth

for herself, for all the generations that came before her and all those yet to come.

Because here’s what I want you to know, gorgeous woman:

that type of courage and wisdom doesn’t just live inside a lucky few.

Feeling good in your body, calm in the presence of others and deeply connected to spirit (you know, the way you’re meant to feel) is not just possible for some, it’s absolutely possible for you, too.

After helping hundreds of women in my therapy practice who are on the same healing path as you, I can assure you that your capacity to live a life of purpose, presence and powerful compassion does not have to be diminished by anything you’ve previously endured.

And to show you how you can fully experience this for yourself, I’ve created…

9-month life-changing online and in-person program that will help you heal, connect to the sacred and return you gently home to you.

This is a deeply transformational journey for women on a spiritual path who are experiencing the effects of unresolved trauma.

It brings together my extensive training and 15+ years experience in somatic psychotherapy, trauma counseling, natural therapies, and the healing arts.

My proven method fuses spiritual with practical and backed-by-science therapeutic healing techniques to address past trauma that lives on in your mind and body and works with every aspect of your physical, energetic, emotional, psychological and spiritual body to resolve it.

“Carissa’s technique is like nothing I’ve experienced before with any other counsellor or therapist. For the first time ever I truly believe I can heal from my past trauma to reshape myself into the person I long to be. I encourage anyone who has been struggling to heal from past trauma and abuse to work with Carissa and start their journey of healing sooner rather than later.”

There comes a time in all our lives when we are called to devote ourselves to our own healing work.

Whether it be for a few months, years or even decades, this is the most important thing we can do for ourselves. Our sense of wellness depends on the flow of love in our lives and love can only flow when our heart is healed. Embodying sacred connection is possible. But it takes journeying to the depths of your own being.

Past traumatic experiences don’t just go away, those experiences live on in our heart, mind and body.

If we don’t heed the call, that unresolved stress or trauma manifests as uncomfortable physical symptoms, broken relationships, burnout or being locked into feelings of purposelessness. All of this just keeps us disconnected from ourselves and reaching our full potential.

they are simply signposts for the soul to lead us towards our own healing.

The call might be to start living your truth, doing things your way, on purpose and with passion or it could be to simply just rest when you need to so you can tend lovingly to your own needs for a while.

Thing is, when you hear it, you can no longer run away. And if you ignore it and keep doing what you’re doing, it’ll eventually come at a much greater cost to you. It’ll cost you deep disconnection from yourself, from others and from life.

So beautiful soul, let me ask you again…

Have you heard the call?

The Sacred Embodiment Healing Mentorship is for you if you often feel:

  • Stressed or sad or just ‘up in your head’ and although you know you want more out of life you can’t shake that sense of unease in your heart no matter how hard you try
  • Lonely and isolated even though you know you have people you can turn to
  • Regularly overwhelmed, anxious or unmotivated
  • Numb, shutdown or seriously disconnected from your spiritual self and soul
  • Like you’re never going to be good enough and it’s affecting your relationships, your job and your satisfaction with life in general

And maybe sometimes you struggle with:

  • Sleepless nights, endless thoughts, anxiety, and ongoing worries
  • Reacting to people and situations yet finding it hard to really feel your emotions
  • Painful feelings of unworthiness or just a constant, underlying sense of not being good enough
  • Allowing fear to dictate your life and it’s seriously holding you back

You know

something needs to radically change in your life but you don’t know what that is. Sometimes it feels like you’re merely existing, on a treadmill going through the motions.

You recognise

you are a chronic people-pleaser, an over functional a perfectionist, or a boundary-less pushover (maybe all three) but you’ve been this way for so long you don’t know how to be any different. 

You feel

deep down like you’re never really going to be good enough no matter what you do but you have no idea how to rewrite that story so you just keep muddling along.

You deserve so much more. Your past experiences do not get to define you. 

It is possible to heal your relationship with yourself, others and all that is sacred to you.

You can live beyond your past trauma, conditioning and imprints. There is so much more available to you. And the fact that you found your way here tells me that you already know this, whether consciously or not and it’s time to start listening to the call of your soul.

Here’s what else I know about you…

  • You want to build better relationships – not only with yourself but with your loved ones and the wider community and simply wanting that for yourself is a really good start.
  • You want to be the best version of yourself – and you’re prepared to do the work, you just need some gentle guidance and loving support from someone with expert knowledge and experience in the field.
  • You want simple tools and easy techniques – that you can incorporate into your existing daily spiritual and self-care practices to bring you closer to your goal of living a life with less stress, fear and physical symptoms.

“Within 6 weeks of working with Carissa, I had divulged things I had never spoken to anyone about. During one of the sessions, I experienced what I can only describe as a fundamental ‘shift’ deep within me where I now no longer feel the rawness of the pain, anger, guilt and shame that I have carried for 40 years.”

In this 9 Month Mentorship

you will answer the call of your soul, heal from pain and past traumas, embrace your most authentic self and begin a journey of deep alchemical transformation.

So if…

You’re tired of quick-fix “experts” with big promises who just don’t deliver.

You’ve done the rounds of therapists using outdated and ineffective cognitive approaches to treat trauma.

You’re ready for something different, a new way that actually makes a difference to how you feel in your skin and how you go about living and loving yourself day-to-day.

 And you want someone who can support you on your journey inwards, explore the darkness and plumb the depths, modeling how to courageously lean into that so you can finally heal the wounds to become whole again…

Then I’m here to do that for you, to gently guide you back home, to you.

No matter where you are on your healing journey, the Sacred Embodiment Healing Mentorship will help you:

  • Resolve stress and trauma experiences and help you to get to know your nervous system patterns so you can work with them instead of being ruled by them
  • Reduce emotional overwhelm
  • Release unhelpful habits and clear out unwanted thought patterns
  • Experience deep peace applying the healing principles of therapeutic touch work
  • Open to a deep and sacred connection
  • Strengthen and enrich every relationship in your life
  • Connect to your true authentic self and listen to your inner wisdom
  • Connect with like-minded empowered women on a similar healing path
  • Peel back the layers of defences and armour and return to joy and pleasure
  • Awaken your intuition and step into your power in every area of your life (health/energy, relationships, career, wealth and contribution)

Woven deeply into the program, is the opportunity for you to sit in sacred healing circles with other beautiful women during group workshops to be held in beautiful Bargara, Queensland in mid-2020.

This will be a vital piece in your healing journey, bringing safety back into relationships by creating safe group spaces to heal.

What this program is, exactly…

This is an embodiment program. It’s about coming home to yourself, to what resides within you so you can reconnect with your body in a whole new way after too long being numb, disconnected and shutdown.

In this program you will learn how to:

Clear ancestral trauma, map family dynamics and resolve childhood trauma.

Be with and move through difficult emotions faster.

Hold space for your own healing through beautiful self-healing practices.

Incorporate these healing rituals into your everyday life.

Return to love and a powerful sense of agency in the world.

Access your gifts, inner resources, and embodied wisdom. 

Release old grief, restore healthy aggression that helps assert boundaries. Finding the fierce side of healing. 

Become a friend to your body and develop deep body awareness and appreciation.

Cultivate the qualities of the heart that get shut down in trauma and difficult experiences – sensitivity, compassion, gentleness.

Each session includes easy to understand information on the science and psychology of trauma-based responses as well as a sacred embodiment session – a combination of somatic healing and therapeutic touch work.

Somatic literally means “relating to the body, as distinct to the mind”. As a therapist trained in body-based methods, I know that emotions and trauma live in the body – not the mind. Every session is a sacred ceremony that leads you gently home to yourself.

This is not a healing journey, it is an inner journey of deep alchemical transformation. It’s where science, soul and heart meet.

We look at how the past is playing out in the present and creating issues and uncomfortable patterns in your life and why the imprint of this trauma and the patterns that were laid down in childhood are what’s holding you back from reaching your full potential. You’ll learn to live from a place of presence and connection to yourself, those around you and the earth.

This is where we remember our essence.

It’s a journey of self-remembering. We learn to listen deeply to the Self that resides within and that exists beyond the wounds and traumas.

Reconnecting to our essence. This program allows women to begin to address, in a safe container, the issues and patterns that until now have been difficult, if not impossible, to access.

Above all, it provides a container to heal what’s unresolved in your heart space – the wounds, the losses, the longings – to make space for all of them to be seen and witnessed and gently healed so you can lovingly return home to yourself.

“Carissa is so caring, empathetic and a great listener. She doesn’t judge, tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, but is there to listen and offer kind words of encouragement.”

This work is not easy,

it will feel uncomfortable at times and it is a process that you must be prepared to commit to fully…

Because let me be clear: this won’t ‘work’ if you don’t do the work. This is no light-weight investment of your limited time, precious energy or hard-earned money. But I truly believe that the costs of not doing it are far greater.

Holding trauma in our bodies

and carrying wounds with us keeps us locked in dysfunction. In doing the work, we develop a deeper awareness of ourselves and others and we go from skimming along the surface and barely surviving to becoming whole once again and thriving.

A few short months is not long in the space of a lifetime. Are you prepared to live each day with the stress and heaviness of your trauma or will you step up and give it all you’ve got for this relatively short period of time?

And if you do make that commitment, here’s what’s available to you:

Healthier relationships

Deeper connections with loved ones and with yourself.

More meaning and a greater purpose in your life.

More clarity and control over your emotions.

Increased confidence and greater emotional resilience.

Fewer unhealthy habits and hair-trigger reactions. 

And best of all…you’ll finally feel good inside your body. So good, in fact, that you’ll no longer…

Question whether you’re good enough or if you’ve got what it takes to go for that job, to start or end a relationship, to build the business of your dreams, to finally put your art out there, to start writing that book you’ve had in your head all these years…

Second-guess every decision you make so you end up so paralysed with fear you don’t actually get any momentum in your life.

Self-medicate with food, alcohol or other substances that dull your spirit, cut off connection to your intuition and create vicious cycles of self-soothing and self-loathing.

Deal with constant and debilitating discomfort, headaches, back and neck pain and all manner of other ailments.

Lay awake all night worrying, tossing and turning and instead sleep deeply and peacefully and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.

Be known as the moody, difficult or anxious one and instead feel more positive and empowered.

Be easily triggered by things in your environment (so instead of feeling like you could go off at any moment, you’re less reactive to people and situations around you).

Stay confined to your safe and constricted comfort zone and actually get out into the world, explore and soak up all the wonders it has to offer.

Keep holding onto your old story, repeat it and bash yourself over the head with it. You can rewrite that story and be the person you came here to be.

Instead of being a 

helpless passenger or passive bystander

in your own life, you’ll finally feel strong enough to get back into the driver’s seat.

“The best way to wake and end suffering is to have presence of the body.”

A Healing Journey is also a spiritual one

A deep connection to the sacred is an incredible life resource that we can access whenever we need to… you just have to know how. So it’s lucky for you that supporting women to reconnect to sacred and spiritual practices is my soul work.

In our modern world we’ve learnt to focus mostly on the physical and mental aspects of our being, our masculine side

As a society, we’re geared towards achieving success and seeking out material possessions, exercising for a perfect body; wearing the right clothes; stimulating our overactive and anxious minds with TV, computer screens and drugs. We are more about ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’.

The emotional and spiritual aspects of our being, our sacred feminine side, has been largely neglected and even discouraged. As a result, our souls have become fractured and fragmented. We’ve forgotten how to be whole, complete beings with all aspects: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, in balance and harmony.

It is now more important than ever to hold onto all that is sacred with a fierce and loving grip or we run the risk of losing ourselves to a shallow and turbulent existence…

As we return to our own human nature through our healing work, we also reclaim our connection with the natural world around us. Just as the indigenous teachings remind us that the earth is a living, breathing temple, The Sacred Embodiment Healing mentorship teaches you to view your body as a living, breathing temple – and revere it in the same way.

Restoring connection with ourselves, each other and the earth is at the heart of the healing journey. And when this is restored, we re-awaken the sacred.

This program blends the

physical, emotional, energetic, psychological and spiritual worlds

to help you reconnect to your natural ways of being.

You’ll discover all the wisdom that your body, the earth and your ancestors have to share and journey inwards so you can heal, grow and reach your highest potential.

“Highly recommend the sacred circle! I felt very much a part of something ancient, something that transcended. The concept of arriving open-hearted to a circle of women, the majority of whom I’d never met, was uncomfortable for me. Yet as I entered the beautiful, cosy space and met the wonderful women present, I was soon at ease.

The night flowed effortlessly and I was in awe of the true power of the sacred circle in that room. The exercises were uncomplicated and challenging but rewarding as the light seeped into the space created through our collective surrender. The generational wisdom and comfort were palpable, I felt we tapped into timeless primordial energy that provided a source of strength for me. I felt I had been showered in gifts of true connection, sacred opportunity, rewarding release, weightless healing, unconditional love and mutual respect. The Healing circle experience is one I know I’ll cherish and I’m looking forward to the next.”

to see strong, intelligent women who have endured the unimaginable, thinking they have no other choice but to push the pain down and suffer alone in silence, simply because they have never known compassionate caring people who were prepared to be with them and really hear them.

Most of the beautiful women who come to see me are so disconnected from their deeper inner world…

They don’t believe they can live a joyful life because of their past experiences. They have no idea about the abundance of internal resources they can access. They’ve been struggling through life not realising their own inherent worth or that the ability to come back home to themselves is possible – and easier than they ever imagined.

Yet, despite all of this, these women have the willingness to show up, move through difficult material and surrender to their own healing process. Not everyone can do this but I am always deeply inspired by those who can.

The mind/body connection and the power of our body as our biggest resource for healing and awakening can not be understated. There is a transformation that takes place when women reconnect to their body wisdom after so long of disconnection and numbness.

It’s your time now – this is not about what your partner, friends or family think you should do and it’s definitely not about whoever stole your spiritual, physical or emotional safety.

This is your opportunity to give yourself radical permission to say ‘yes’ to yourself, maybe even for the first time in your life….

I can help you find and tie the unresolved threads so the healing can begin to take place.

There is so much more available to you.

Thanks to Carissa, I can now say that I love ALL of who I am. I am kinder, more gentle and more forgiving with myself. I am walking the path of my authentic self. Working with Carissa made all of this possible.”

The Sacred Embodiment Healing Mentorship

provides a clear, actionable process that will help you transform your trauma from the inside out. Here’s how this journey will unfold…

OVER THE COURSE OF 9 TRANSFORMATIONAL MONTHS, YOU’LL GET:

A safe container to be seen, felt, heard and deeply understood.

This program blends individualised somatic experiencing and therapeutic touch work sessions with group workshops and sacred women’s circles, so over the course of 9 months, you’ll get both personalised and community support on your path to healing.

Sacred Embodiment Group Workshop

This 2.5 day workshop is a core part of the program and beautifully supports your individual sessions. You’ll learn the science of stress, trauma and the nervous system and be introduced to the Sacred Women’s Healing Circles and sacred practices using ritual, movement, meditation and dance.

 

Individual Sessions (60 mins duration ea.)

12 x Sacred Embodiment Sessions

Sessions include a combination of Somatic Experiencing and therapeutic touch work as well as the spiritual tools and techniques that you as an individual need. Every session is a sacred ceremony that takes you inward, leading you gently back to yourself.

 

2 x Sacred Ancestry Sessions

We’ll resolve the traumas of your lineage so you can reclaim the gifts of your ancestors. Includes 1 x Healing Your Motherline and 1 x Healing Your Fatherline.

 

Self-Compassion Warrior Workshop (online or in-person)

This full-day workshop will provide a sacred sanctuary setting for your soul to explore what it’s like to be compassionate and kind to yourself. You’ll learn practices to allow space for all of your pain, confusion and self-doubt. Allowing the pain to unfold and heal in a sacred space will give you the strength and mental clarity to experience life-changing transformation. In addition, you’ll develop the skill of turning kindness towards yourself and learn to become your own best friend.

 

Sacred Women’s Healing Circles

Coming together in community is how we’re wired. To be in connection and relationship with one another is a vital part of our wellbeing and our healing. Together in our Sacred Women’s Circles, we get to explore relational embodiment – how to be connected to ourselves when we are with others. This is a practice we cannot do on our own and an essential part of learning to be safe in the world, especially if we have had early trauma.

Special Closing Circle. At the end of the program we will have a 3-hour closing circle called ‘Embodying the light of your future self’.

And, to help you get even more out of your healing journey, over the 9 months you’ll get access to these incredible resources:

7 Steps to Ease Emotional Overwhelm

eBook + audio meditation. Each of these nervous system practices are designed to reduce overwhelm and help you feel safe in your body.

A Companion Guide to Your Sacred Embodiment Healing Mentorship Journey

5 Keys to Wholehearted Healing

Unlock the doors to access the healing within you. Learn to trust the process and flourish.

Sacred Embodiment Self-Healing CD

Audio tracks to support healing at home with daily practices to help build resilience and connection with your body.

Blank Journal & Pen Set

Write your reflections as you journey through the Sacred Embodiment Healing Mentorship.

Blessing Table Kit

Includes a guide, a beautiful handmade candle for heart-healing and silk cloth to build your healing blessing table for the journey ahead.

A Hard Copy of 'Waking the Tiger' by Peter Levine

This book holds pioneering insights into understanding stress and trauma.

9 x Individualised Flower Essence Remedies

For emotional healing, crafted by me to align with your healing journey. You’ll receive the remedies throughout the program as you need them.

21 Fast & Effective Ways to Soothe the Nervous System

This handy checklist gives you my go-to strategies to bring comfort in difficult moments and calm the stress response.

Comfort Blend Essential Oil

A specially crafted blend to support the parasympathetic (rest and digest) branch of the nervous system and create states of calm, ease + settling.

Plus

as a very special bonus, you’ll get Stephen Porges The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) plus  instructions for touch practices you can do at home in combination with the SSP. 

You will get to do the at-home SSP protocol 3 times throughout the program.

This is a five-day at-home therapeutic listening program designed to increase social engagement and calm the nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve through specific frequencies.

Based on Dr Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, by calming the physiological and emotional state, the door is opened for improved communication and more successful therapy.

With all of these incredible inclusions, this is a life-changing program.

Your investment

FLEXIBLE

10 monthly payments of

$390 AUD ea

with $497 deposit

BEST VALUE

A one-time payment of 

$3997 AUD

save $400

PLEASE NOTE: An invoice will be provided once your application has been accepted. You do not need to pay anything today, however, your place is not confirmed until payment has been received. Places are strictly limited.

The program starts in March 2021.

“Some years ago I was struggling to find a reason to continue living. My prayers for a better life and future than what I had so far endured were gratefully answered when I came to Carissa for counselling. She patiently listened, really listened to what I was sharing. She immediately gained my trust with her gentle, kind and genuinely caring manner; trust that had been previously violated. I was able to gradually release fears, misconceptions, overwhelming emotional traumas and deep-seated grief from within me.”

At the end of the program, you will know how to…

Become your own healer

So you can heal emotional traumas, resolve hurt and pain and begin to hold yourself with gentleness and care.

Build better boundaries

So you are less triggered by others and their stories as you heal intergenerational patterns and reclaim intergenerational gifts.

Be less critical and more compassoniate towards yourself

As you learn to bring compassionate presence to yourself and cultivate a strong sense to the sacred as an ongoing resource for life.

Surrender in peace and grace

Learn how to be with feelings and sensations without getting overwhelmed.

Connect to your intuition

Follow your own sacred wisdom inside of you as you strengthen intuition and gut sense.

Feel safe in your skin

Nurture the survival physiology locked in the nervous system to restore a felt sense of inner safety.

Get back into the right relationship with yourself

Embrace all of your glorious imperfections and develop self-acceptance so you can own your beauty, grace and embodiment.

Release your past

So you can overcome what’s holding you back. Let go of shame, stuckness, fear and insecurity and start living to your fullest potential.

Develop somatic intelligence

So you can unlock your ability to decode your body’s messages and therefore listen to the wisdom it holds. The body guides us and presents us with the most accurate and reliable guidelines for living our most aligned life.

I’ve been where you are…

In my early adult years, I was thrown into a dark and difficult pit of despair that very nearly consumed me. I remember how vulnerable and uncomfortable I felt asking for the support I so desperately needed.

How lucky I was that my cries for help were heard by strong women, therapists and mentors, who gave me hope, determination and most importantly, the skills to rebuild my life. Still, it took all the courage I had just to show up. I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to share the truths I had buried deep within me – but I went anyway.

What I discovered was a profound feeling of safety in the warm embrace of the therapy space that allowed me to go deep within myself and work through the layers of wounds and shame I was carrying.

I’m incredibly grateful for my own experience of being supported by strong women in individual therapy, group therapy and sacred women’s circles. To feel truly seen and heard in a way that your soul is aching for.

Through these experiences, I not only worked through my problems and issues but I grew personally. I discovered that the places within me that held the most fear were eventually where I found the most gems and the most significant growth.

Working through the layers of wounds and defences I came to know my authentic self. My therapeutic journey turned into a deeply sacred journey of knowing myself.

As my inner life alchemised, my outer life transformed. My relationships became healthier, I felt more connected to those I loved, I developed close and deep friendships, I began building healthy boundaries, I felt lighter in my body and more grounded in who I am.

I want to be that strong woman for you and provide a safe, warm space for you to connect with other women on the same healing path.

“Before working with Carissa, living was too hard, too painful and too dark…with fortnightly sessions, I realised that what I initially thought were the issues turned out to be pointers to even deeper issues. Carissa gave me exercises, tools and strategies but most importantly I was given SPACE to BE and treated with compassion and empathy. Therapy with her has allowed me to walk in the full magnificence of who I am.”

“Carissa’s astute observations, practical guidance and helpful suggestions are just some of the many skills she brings as a competent and successful counsellor. I left every session with something real, of substance, practical and effective in assisting me on my path of recovery, with hope for a better future and a life worth living.”

“Within 6 weeks of seeing Carissa, I had divulged things I had never spoken of before. I experienced a fundamental ‘shift’ inside of me and for the first time, I no longer felt the rawness of the pain, anger, guilt and shame that I have carried with me for 40yrs. I know it will take time and commitment but I am now excited for the future and for the first time ever I truly believe I can heal from the trauma to reshape myself into the person I long to be. I encourage anyone who has been struggling to heal from past trauma and abuse to contact Carissa and start their own journey of healing today.”

Your Investment

FLEXIBLE

10 monthly payments of

$390 AUD ea

with $497 deposit

BEST VALUE

A one-time payment of 

$3997 AUD

save $400

PLEASE NOTE: An invoice will be provided once your application has been accepted. You do not need to pay anything today, however, your place is not confirmed until payment has been received. Places are strictly limited.

The program starts in March 2021

“From the minute I met Carissa the connection was immediate and the weight lifted off my shoulders. Even if I moved, I would find a way to continue to work with her. I am a much happier human having her as part of my life. Thank you, Carissa, for always being there, we have certainly travelled a journey together, with many winding paths along the way. But with your help, I can start to see the light and onto a wider, clearer path. You truly are a beautiful, warm and very gifted soul.”

Some Questions You May Have…

When does the program start? Where will the sessions be held?

The program will officially kick off in early March and finishes in November. Once you register, you will be sent a link via email to my calendar to schedule all of your sessions over the 9 months at a time that suits you. 

Can I take the program completely online?

Yes, you can. I’m open to working with clients on Skype or Zoom and this can be just as effective as in person. However, I do prefer to work face to face and once you experience my work, you’ll understand why. This program is a blend of individual and group sessions and a large part of the individual sessions is therapeutic touch work on the table. If you don’t live in or around the Widebay region or you can’t make it to some or all of the sessions, I can conduct our sessions online and it can be just as effective as being in person with me.

If it is at all possible for you, I do recommend that you attend the 3-day Sacred Embodiment Workshop, which will consist of three hours Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday. This is where we’ll be sitting in sacred women’s circles and continuing our healing in the relationship. In essence, to get the most out of this opportunity is to fully commit to the whole experience.

 

How does the Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) work?

The SSP is designed to be done at the very beginning of the Journey to lay the foundations and pave the way for your heart, mind and body to heal. For those doing the mentorship in person, you will attend my clinic for five consecutive days for a 60-minute session. For those taking the program online, you will be sent the auditory equipment to listen to in the comfort of your own home for a total of 60 minutes each day.

The Safe and Sound protocol is an auditory intervention and has a specific iPod containing music with certain frequencies. This can only be ordered and can not be downloaded. The SSP is offered as a subscription-based program and the online pack includes the following equipment:

Sony Walkman MP3 digital music player loaded with the SSP program containing vocal music processed by iLs
High-quality circumaural iLs Headphones
MP3 player, charging cable and charger
Waistpack – adjustable for children and adults
Carry case

How is this program more helpful than seeing a therapist?

This is a completely new way of working. My method fuses the science, psychology and spiritual aspects of trauma and healing. If you’re sceptical about therapy because you’ve tried it all before and nothing seemed to shift or you’re wondering if this will work for you, then I want to reassure you that my method has helped hundreds of women leap from trauma to triumph.

This program provides a safe container for the healing that wants to happen and with my guidance, knowledge and proven method I know I can help you. This is a journey inwards, a reconnection to spirit and gentle return home to you. I have the utmost confidence that this powerful work will help release the pain, wounds and fear you’ve been carrying. Feeling good in your own skin and living the life you crave is possible for you — but, you need to fully commit to the process to make this happen.

Along the way, you’ll learn the powerful art of self-healing so you can take everything you’ve learned and continue your healing at home, at work, at social events, in every aspect of your daily life. At the end of the program, you’ll walk away feeling stronger, calmer and more confident with the education, skills, tools and techniques you can use for life.

Do I have to attend the workshops?

Even if you choose to do this 9 month mentorship online, it’s super important that you attend the Sacred Embodiment Workshop. This immersive event will be held over three magical days in early June 2020. For some, it will mean travelling across the country but it is a vital part of this mentorship and together with your individual sessions, will take your healing journey to all-new depths. Accommodation is not included but I can provide you with a list of beautiful, comfortable and affordable options. The Self Compassion Workshop is online so you have a choice as to whether to attend in person for this or online.

What is therapeutic touch work?

In the sessions, I use both therapeutic tools and touch work practices to down-regulate and get you back into your body. Using my hands with gentle presence, intention and respectful, consensual touch, I can determine the state of your nervous system and pave the way for you to go inwards, open up and develop the capacity to receive the healing your soul is craving.

Therapeutic touch work is a blend of Advanced Somatic Experiencing touch practices, Touch skills for Trauma (Kathy Kain), and Jin Shin Jyutsu. It is based on healing trauma directly through the body. It has a profound capacity to bypass the thinking mind and access very implicit states of early stress that has been locked in the nervous system. Touch work supports very early trauma to be resolved, current stressors to be soothed and settled and gets you in touch with your higher consciousness.

Therapeutic touch work integrates brain science, attachment methods and sacred practices for deeper healing and offers you the safe, sacred space that allows you the freedom to heal.

What is Somatic Experiencing?

The Somatic Experiencing® method was developed by Dr Peter A Levine. It is based on his study of stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, medical biophysics and more than 45 years of successful clinical application.

It is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. It helps to release traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. It offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states. For more information on the Somatic Experiencing method click here.

How do I know if this program will work for me and help me heal from what I've been through?

This work is truly transformational. It changes lives. But we all respond to different things and I never know the piece that will be the right fit for each individual. However, I do trust that everyone will find what they need. The individual sessions are designed to be in person as therapeutic touch work is a big part of what I do. The group work is also deeply healing and beneficial for your journey.

This program may be just the beginning of your healing journey or all the support you’ll ever need, either way, if you wish to continue with therapeutic support through my private and highly individualised 1:1 sessions, I will remain committed to your ongoing needs once the program finishes.

Who are you and what are your credentials?

 

My work is based on 15+ years experience working and studying around the world in the healing arts of Gestalt Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, Mindfulness and Family Constellations. I’m a Somatic Psychotherapist, Counsellor, Stress & Trauma Therapist, Self-Compassion Coach and the Co-Founder & Director of Wide Bay Counselling & Psychotherapy. I hold qualifications in community services with a Masters degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy and I am a qualified Somatic Experiencing and Therapeutic Touch work practitioner. All these methods are based deeply in neuroscience and the science of the nervous system to heal and move toward wellbeing.

Before entering private practice, I spent over 12 years as a Counsellor and Community Educator serving a diverse range of people in community services. Through Wide Bay Counselling & Psychotherapy I support workplaces and organisations with Employee Assistance Programs, critical incident response and supervision for counsellors and helping professionals. Specialised contracts include providing counselling, supervising and training for the Queensland Ambulance and Queensland Fire services. I also work with individual patients to work through PTSD, depression, anxiety, abuse, grief, and relationship issues.

Through my signature method the Somatic Awakening Method™ I help women who have experienced early childhood stress and trauma to view trauma as a sacred gateway that they can enter and evolve through, safely rather than seeing trauma as a problem that needs eradicating.

I don't live in the Wide Bay region, can I still do this program?

This is for those who are in or around the Wide Bay region or willing to travel! Although open to Skype clients I prefer to work face to face. The women who sign up for this program are dedicated to their healing journey and if that means traveling or turning up, even when it feels difficult or uncomfortable, then that is what she will do. If that’s you, I’d love to have you in the program.

 

I'm not sure now is the right time...

Let me ask you this: if not now, when? Will it ever feel like the ‘right’ time? Probably not. We all have a natural resistance to change but you’ve already taken the first step by reading this far. Once you’ve made the commitment, we’ll take it one day at a time, and I’ll be here for you every step of the way. You deserve to be happy and live a life of freedom.

 

Is there a refund policy?

Short answer is: no. Longer answer is: I firmly believe that when we invest fully in our own healing, growth and personal development, we show up stronger. If you decide to take the leap towards being the best version of yourself you can possibly be, I want you to be all in, to fully commit to your own healing. And when you do that, there is nothing that can get in the way of achieving your goals.

More questions?

I’d love to answer them for you. You can contact me here.

“Working with Carissa was simply the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Even if you still hold pain from all you have endured…

Even if you think you’re just too broken to see or feel any real changes

Helping you find meaning is my meaning, it’s what I am here to do.

If you’re looking for a sanctuary to heal your heart wounds and a kind and skilled mentor who can bear witness, not only to your suffering but also to your joy, then I invite you to join us for the Sacred Embodiment Healing Mentorship.

Starts March 2021